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GOVERNOR HARRISON'S ADPRE88 AT WOODSTOCK. 

July 4th, 1885. 
[From the Independent, July 9, 1885.] 

Men renowned in arts and in arms — statesmen, scholars, poets, 
warriors — have assembled here with us to celebrate the birth of the Re- 
public, and to renew the expression of their faith in the fundamental 
doctrine of the Republic, the doctrine that "government of the people 
ought to be government for the people and by the people." 

For a solemn confession of that faith I know of no place in the 
world more appropriate, in some respects, than the place where we 
now stand. For this town of Woodstock is a Connecticut town. As 
such it ie endowed with all the rights and powers which belong to 
every Connecticut town. It is a political organism of a peculiar char- 
acter, worth the careful study of every political philosopher. # is in 
fact a little Republic in itself, an indestructible Republic, in which the 
principle of Democratic government has full play, and where the free 
action of that principle is guaranteed by the strongest constitutional 
defenses. It may be worth our while to look at this little Republic for 
a few moments and see how it is organized, what are its powers, and 
how it acts. 

The people of Woodstock number not far from three thousand. 
They constitute a town. All the powers of the town are exercised by 
the *' freemen " or legal voters, some five or six hundred in number. 
The suffrage is manhood suffrage, and the freemen are all equal in 
rights. They constitute the legislative body, the town meeting, and 
they choose all the town officers. The basis of the town organization 
therefore it is absolutely democratic. The town is a free democracy. 

It is indestructible. The Constitution confirms its perpetual ex- 
istence. The government of the State cannot destroy it or merge it in 
any other town without its consent. 

It elects its own officers of local government — not by permission of 
the General Assembly but liy its own right. The Constitution gives it 
the indefeasible right of electing annually its own selectmen and all 
its other numerous oflBcera of local police. The State government can- 
not take away this right or interfere with it. 

It elects its own juatices of the peace, each of whom is rested with 
a limited, but still considerable, jurisdiction in civil and criminal 



causes. The State government cannot appoint iTiem. Nobody but 
the freemen of the town itself can appoint them. 

The officers of the justice courts — the grand jurors, who prosecute 
criminals before them, and the constable, who serves their process and 
executes their judgments — are appointed by the town. The State gov- 
ernment cannot appoint them, or interfere with the action of the toWij 
in appointing them, so long as their offices exist. 

As a probate district it elects its own judge of probate, who exer- 
cises that wide jurisdiction over the settlement of estates, the appoint, 
meut of trustees and guardians, and so forth, which is usually exer- 
cised by courts of probate, or surrogates' or orphans' courts, as they 
are sometimes called in other States. 

A probate district may include two or more towns, but each one 
of thirteen out of fifteen towns in this county is a probate district by 
itself. Woodstock is such a district. The freemen of this town 
thererth-e choose their own judge of probate, and the State government 
cannot take away or Jimit their right to do so. And this probate sys- 
tem — strange as the fact may seem to a lawyer unacquainted with it — 
works well, for reasons which I have not time now to explain. 

Bj permission of the State the town exercises many other rights 
and powers, rights and powers which the State could take away, but is 
not likely to take away — many of them being consecrated by tradition 
and rooted in the habits of the people. 

It exercises control over public education within its limits and 
generally over all its local afiFairs. 

Its board of health is vested with those great and indefinite " po- 
lice powers," so called, over persons and property which must be vested 
somewhere for the protection of the public health. 

It legislates in town meetings on a great variety of subjects 
specially enumerated in the statute book; — and, finally, it possesses the 
broad general powers expressed by the statute in these words: " Towns 
may make such regulations for their welfare, not concerning matters 
of a criminal nature nor repugnant to the laws of the State, as they 
may deem expedient, and enforce them by penalties not exceeding five 
dollars for each breach." Am I not right, then, in saying that this 
town of Woodstock is a republic, a free Democratic republic, an indes- 
tructible republic, exercising great and various powers of government, 
many of which are beyond the reach of interference, even from the 
government of the State itself? 

This little republic has another indefeasible right— the right of 



sending two representatives to every session of the General Assembly 
— an immemorial right which the government of the State cannot 
infringe. 

Connecticut is a small State, almost invisible among the greater 
States of this Union, and yet within her narrow limits are one hun- 
drOT and sixty-seven of these little republics. By their indissoluble 
union they constitute the State, and exercise through the State gov- 
ernment those governmental powers which it is practically impossible 
for them to exereise individually. 

This system of town government more or less closely resembles 
that which prevails in some of the other States, especially the other 
New England States, but I thmk, although I will not positively assert, 
that here in Woodstock, and in the other Connecticut towns, the 
Democratic principle of government by the people is carried out more 
radically and protected more thoroughly by constitutional safeguards 
than it is in almost any other State or country in the world. 

I do not say that this system has no defects. It has defects which 
in some of the larger towns have made necessary the establishment of 
supplementary city and borough organizations, (also democratic in 
eharacter, however,) to co-operate with the town organizations within 
those towns. 

I do not say that the system is perfect in all other respects, I do 
say that it forms a broad and deep and granitic base for the free com- 
monwealth which for two centuries and a half has rested firmly upon 
it. It has answered for us the question whether a republican govern- 
ment can long endure. For since it was established here kingdoms 
and empires have risen and fallen, while it has remained unshaken. 

For two hundred and fifty years this system has existed in Con- 
necticut, varying in details, but unchanged in principle and substance. 
It has been strong in peace and strong in war. If you ask whether it 
has promoted the happiness and prosperity of the people look around 
you. 

Here then, if anywhere, may we appropriately celebrate the birth 
of the Great Republic ; here in the center of the little republic of 
Woodstock, a republic older than the Great Republic itself, though 
younger by more than a hundred years than some of her little sister 
republics of Connecticut. 

Most cordially do I unite with my fellow citizeus in welcoming 
our distinguished guests to Woodstock, to Windham county, and to 
the State of Connecticut. 



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